You put your arms around me and I'm home
by Marrie-cullen
Summary: Isabella is dealing with an abusive, angry father, and her only reason for living is dead; her mom. she's on edge about to jump but a determined Edward helps her realize that not everything is a lost cause. follow these two on a journey of finding their truths. Rated M for Atempted suicide & more
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know, I suck for doing this, but I couldn't resist! I just want to let you know that I WILL complete all of my stories; this one will probably be completed first since it's easier to write and I already know what I want to happen. This story will be beta'd by '7 ace', Girl, I love you to death for putting up with my Grammatical issues! **

_**The theme song for this story is; Christina Perri: 'Arms'. I have been listening to that song nonstop for the past week, and I just couldn't get this plot out of my head! The song might not make sense for this story yet, but it will once Edward comes along. **_

_**Anyway, here is the opener. Enjoy!**_

She winced in pain as she softly stroked the newly formed bruise on her back; made from the edge of the kitchen counter, forced on her by the hands of a drunken Charlie.

Though looking in a mirror, her vision was blurred by the tears, held back from the earlier altercation, for she wouldn't show her vulnerability in front of _him_. And especially in front of her.

Her mother who she loved so dearly. She always told her mother; "It's _okay_ if Charlie doesn't love you, I love you enough for the both of us."

At that, her mother would break down. Mumbling her apologies to her daughter for not being strong enough, and asking God "Why?".

Of course, this wouldn't be in the presence of Charlie. The only thing good that could come of that is him knowing how the two women really felt.

Not that he cared.

Maybe he did at one point. But that point was lost; in the sea of dreams, goals, and happiness, in which the three used to live.

A 'family' that consists of a father -or sperm-donor, however you want it- turned alcoholic, angry, and abusive toward the only to people who gave a damn, and would put up with it.

A mother, who went from not being able to keep a smile off her face to not being able to keep the tears from her aged and tiresome features.

Finally there was the seventeen year old girl turned woman. Forced to mature at a young age, her teenage years were gone before she truly had a chance to enjoy them. The only innocence that remained was her virginity. Because even the 'father' couldn't be _that _low, though she wouldn't put it past him.

Though Isabella was living in hell on earth, she still held on to a thread of hope. Hope that things would get better, that there was 'no where but up from here'.

Whether that better place was in heaven or somewhere out of Washington, she didn't know, but it had to come soon.

One way, or the other.

_**Please, please, tell me what you think, so I know whether to keep going! Flame, love it, suggestions, Please review!**_

_**If you haven't listened to the song yet, you REALLY should!**_

_**Peace, love, and broken headboards!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello fanfiction peasants! **

**First off, thank you to my beta '7 ace' for pimpin out my stories... I would drown in stress without you!**

**As some of you who've read my profile know, I'm obsessed with all thhings that is or have to do with Italy. So before I start my college years, me and some friends are going to Italy! I'm so excited :) so I want to update all of my stories one more time before I go. **

**So I hope you enjoy this!**

**Btw: I do not own Twilight!...If I did, I wouldn't be on fanfiction...**

_The world is coming down on me and I can't find a reason to be loved, I never wanna leave you but I can't make you bleed if I'm alone. ~Arms _

Bella awoke to the now well-known sound of here parents arguing. She'd heard it all before, They would battle about the smallest things;

"_Why is it that every time I come in this bathroom, After telling you Time and time again NOT to, you Still choose to leave the cap off of the toothpaste! Now this sink is filthy, and I'm not cleaning it!"_ Her dads livid voice would echo through the house at early hours of the morning.

And they would battle about the more serious things.

"_Why are you getting here this late? It's two o'clock in the fucking morning! If you're going to cheat on me, don't even bother coming here!" _Her mother would scream while sobbing uncontrollably.

Of course she had no proof of her husband's infidelity, she called it woman's intuition.

The arguments didn't usually intensify to an physical fighting, only when Charlie was drunk. He never laid a finger on the two women when he was sober.

Verbal abuse, yes, mental abuse, yes, physical abuse, no.

But today was different.

when Bella came out of her room, she saw that Charlie had her Mother pinned against the wall, pulling her hair, and yelling at her, calling her a 'good for nothing piece of scum'.

which could only mean one thing, they were arguing about money.

Last month Charlie got drunk,- happy drunk- and told Renee that he would cover her half of the bills, for he had gotten a big raise - which would explain why he was drunk; to celebrate.-

but in the next couple of weeks the money was gone. wasted on alcohol for Charlie to forget the pain of his parents deaths.

So this week, the bills came in the mail and, of course, Charlie has no recollection of ever having that conversation with Renee and accused her of being duplicitous so that she wouldn't have to pay her bills.

Bella hated to see her mother being treated so terribly.

she quickly made her way over to the arguing couple and attempted to pry Charlie's hands from her mother. "Stop it! let go of her, stop!" Bella yelled in a voice that commanded attention.

Charlie turned abruptly, knocking Bella onto the floor in the process. He got down until eye level with Bella. "Why should I let her go?" He nearly growled, his eyes piercing into hers.

Everyone always said that the strongest part of a 'Swan' was their eyes; they could light a fire, or make you fall in love with them, instantly.

Bella deadpanned. "Y-you're going to be late for work."

Charlie turned to look at the clock to see that he was in fact going to be late. he gave the Renee one last condescending look and was then gone with a slam of the front door.

"God I can't do this anymore."

Bella heard her mother whisper, she wasn't even sure she was supposed to hear it. Naturally, Bella held her mother while she apologized for 'not being strong enough'.

Of course Bella didn't think her mother was weak at all, just heartbroken and conflicted.

It wasn't until an hour later that Bella went to get ready for school. since she didn't feel that Renee was up to it, she called Esme Cullen, her godmother to take her to school. Esme graciously obliged.

Esme lived in a small town named forks located in Washington. Along with her family. Her husband and Bella's godfather Carlisle Cullen. Then there was her daughter and one of Bella's closest friends, Mary-Alice Cullen.

Though she was almost he exact opposite to Bella, they got along greatly. they do say opposites attract.

Finally there was the son of the family, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen. He was the strong, silent type. Bella hadn't seen him in a while. The last couple of times that the rest of the Cullen's came to visit the Swan family in Seattle, Edward decided not to come. but when he was around he was nice to her.

On the way to school, Esme kept the conversation light. she talked about how her career was going. Her business was spreading to Seattle so she was down in Seattle for the next week. Her job occupation was a real estate agent and apparently she was past admirable with her job seeing as to how she'd already sold four houses in the past week.

Alice planned on becoming an interior designer for houses, and as far as Bella knew, Edward was going to follow his dads footsteps and become a doctor.

Bella had no idea what she was going to do with her life.

School was the same as always. She had nearly a 4.0 GPA, no problems in behavior and a good group of friends. life was great, when it came to school.

When Bella got home from school she saw that her mother and Esme were seemingly in an intense conversation. Renee looked dead on her feet her face was shallow and more pale than usual.

It scared Bella to see her mother looking like she did, it's been a while since she looked herself and healthy. she made her way over to the two and gave her mother a hug. She then looked her mother straight in the eye. " Hello mother, are you okay?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.

Renee smiled softly at her daughter. "I'll be fine, darling. oh! I almost forgot, your friend Angela called. She wants you to go with her to pick out an out fit for a date."

Bella used to find it highly embarrassing that her friends had to call the house in order to contact her, but she doesn't even cringe at the situation anymore. there are more important things than electronics.

"No it's okay, I'll just-"

Renee cut her off, not taking no for an answer. "nonsense! go out and have fun! besides, momma needs to rest."

Bella was conflicted while she wanted to go out and have fun-something she rarely does- she also wanted to watch after her mom.

Renee looked like a walking corpse... it put an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

The phone rang again. This time it was Esme who spoke up.

"Go ahead honey, maybe you'll find some nice outfit as well." She smiled encouragingly at Bella.

Esme knew of the problems that went on in the 'Swan' family, she's heard arguments and seen bruises on Renee. But Renee made her promise that that she wouldn't get involved.

Esme would break that promise in a millisecond if she knew that Charlie was also hurting Bella.

Bella eventually agreed and gave Angela the okay to pick her up. Bella was about to walk out the door when she heard her mother call for her. Renee walked up to Bella and enveloped her into a loving hug " Be safe sweetheart, I love you." Bella heard her mother sniff. Her sudden burst of emotions confused Bella, but of course she'd never turn down her mothers affection.

"I love you too, mom. Bye Esme." She called from the door and her a response soon after.

Bella spent the rest of that day helping Angela, find an appropriate outfit for a special date with her long time boyfriend, Eric Yorkie. They have been dating for approximately three years, and things were starting to get serious. Angela thought that on this date, Eric was going to purpose to her.

Bella was extremely happy for them. Yeah, they were young, but they were in love and they were both mature enough to know what they were getting themselves into.

Bella didn't really have a dating history, always to busy with watching over her mother or dealing with Charlie. It didn't really bother her yet, she wasn't the type of girl that craved male attention.

The girls had s great time walking around downtown, window shopping, actual shopping, and stopping to buy some kind of junk food whenever they past a store with it.

It was around nine o'clock When Angela finally found an outfit and satisfied her the girls headed back home.

"Thanks for taking me with you tonight, it's been a long time since I've actually had fun." Bella told Angela gratefully. Angela also knew that her parents were going through hard times. But she was left in the dark when came to just how hard Bella took it all.

"Of course! anytime you need a friend or want to have a good time, just call me."

Bella laughed, "Are making a pass at me Ange?" Angela winked at Bella and both girls burst out laughing.

However Bella's died down after she saw red and blue lights reflecting from Angela's face. She looked straight ahead and saw that there was a police car and an ambulance in her parents driveway.

**_Review? Please let me your thoughts, so I know if I continue finish this story!_**


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Hello everyone! I don't really have much to say except did everyone hear Christina Perri's song that will be in Breaking Dawn? If not then tsk tsk!**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_**The world is coming down on me and I can't find a reason to be lovedI never wanna leave you but I can't make you bleed if I'm alone ~Christina Perri**_

_**Bella's POV**_

Her heart beat rapidly as she slowly got out of the car. It was as if everything occurred in slow motion, with the soundtrack of her heartbeat. She could spot on looking neighbors watching the scene with worry, she dimly recalled Angela getting out of the car with her. But her focus was on the potential cause of the chaos; her mother.

There was a side of her, very small but there, that hoped it was just a big misunderstanding. _'Maybe the police and ambulance go the wrong house.' _She internally reasoned. _'Perhaps it was just a small fire that set the smoke alarm off.'_

Bella's fruitless hope was crushed instantly as the paramedics rolled a stretcher out of the house, with a covered body on it.

A collective gasp could be heard as Bella sprinted into the house, ignoring the protests of both Angela and the police officers.

The house wasn't damaged, showed no signs of any fighting. In fact the house was rather empty with no trace of anyone's presence. Bella was about to go into her parent's room but a cop pulled her back from entering.

"Excuse me miss, but you are not prohibited to be in here."

Bella straightened up so that she was nearly eye level with him. "This is _my _house. _I'm_ the one keeping this family together. WHERE ARE MY PARENTS?" She bellowed, daring the officer to give her a half-assed response, while also hoping that he would. She didn't want to her those confirming words that she had a sinking feeling about.

The officer's expression softened. He took a deep breath and let it out in a blow. "Look kid," Bella flinched at the word. "I don't know if I should be the one to tell you this, but Renee Swan-"

"Bella! There you are, honey I was so worried about you!"

Bella vaguely heard Esme talking to her, but her attention and eyes were locked on the Police officer, who'd just used Esme's appearance as an escape route.

He said something about her mother. _What was he going to say? _That it was Renee who got rolled of the house on that stretcher? '_No,' _Bella thought, _'that's not what he was going to say.'_

Then she remembered Esme was with her. She turned to see Esme's anxious features eyeing her intently. "Bella, are you okay?" Esme asked cautiously.

**Esme's POV**

She noticed how Bella's eyes were unfocused and how she kept subtly shaking her head, as if she were disagreeing with something.

'_She's probably in denial.' _Esme thought. _'She has good reason to be too'_

Esme wasn't exactly sure what was going on herself. She was at her hotel catching up on her work for the next house that was in order to be sold, when she got a call from Bathilda; the Swan's next door neighbor, saying that there was a police car in front of their house. Esme immediately hauled herself to the Swan's house, her thoughts focused wholly on Bella.

"I knew I should've taken her a long time ago." She repeated to herself as she sped through the night.

When she arrived to the house she quickly pushed through the small crowd to get to Bathilda, who was standing nearby watching the scene.

"What's going on?" Esme asked immediately.

"T-They just carried a body out on a stretcher. It was covered with a black sheet." The sobbing lady said.

Esme's gasp could be heard by the surrounding people. Her thoughts turned to Bella; she was going to be so crushed.

_Unless…_

"Have you seen Bella?" Esme asked in sudden panic. Bathilda pointed towards the Swan's house.

"She ran into the house after they brought the body out." Esme rasped out a quick thanks before dashing towards the house, her mind flooded with relief at the realization that Bella was still alive.

_But someone is not._

She spotted Bella upstairs in front of Charlie and Renee's bedroom door, staring intently at a police officer as if he was a juror telling her whether she was found innocent or guilty. Esme scurried over to Bella.

"Bella! There you are, honey I was so worried about you! I was in my hotel when I got a call that there was a ruckus going on over here." The police officer looked at Esme in sudden relief and sped off downstairs. Esme looked at Bella's face, she looked scared, worried, tired…just terrible. As if she was carrying the world's weight on her shoulders.

That look would haunt Esme for years to come.

"Bella, are you okay?" Esme asked carefully as to not set Bella off.

**Bella's POV**

Bella didn't know how to feel, she was confuddled in her own emotions; didn't know what was going on. She felt everything at once, but the emotion on top of it all was determination. She was determined not to jump to conclusions. She was determined not to break down until she knew what was going on.

"I need to know what's happening." Bella told Esme, ignoring her original question completely.

"I know, so do I. So why don't you wait here, and I'll go see what the issue is." Esme said softly. Bella nearly failed in her attempts to keep her tears in check, as she watched Esme rush downstairs.

This was it. _What if it were one of her parents on that stretcher? Who else would it be?_

All too soon, Esme was back. She paused several times before she finally reached Bella. Bella broke out in a cold sweat, her hands trembling as she witnessed Esme's heavy sobbing. She could feel the perspiration trickling down her forehead and neck. She clenched her jaw in an attempt to keep her tears at bay.

Bella could see from Esme's expression and posture that things were about to get really tough.

Esme's voice was rough and trembled from tears as she spoke. "S-she's dead. She's gone." Esme repeated over and over again as her sobs grew.

Bella knew it was coming. She felt as if she had been stabbed in her chest, her breath caught in her throat as she held in a sob.

And then she suddenly felt numb, her eyesight faded to lack and the last thing felt was her body hit the floor.

Now her mother was gone.

_And nothing else matters._

_**A/N: what do you think? I promise you that it won't always be this angst...I mean it is going to get a lot worse then this, but then it'll get better.**_

_**Question: Do you like the Third person? Or should I switch over to first?**_

_**Next update will be next week, if you're good ;)**_

_**Please Review! I can't know if you enjoy it if you don't!**_

_**Peace, love and broken headboards!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**So, one morning I woke up, checked my email, and saw that I had THIRTY emails pertaining to this story. I don't know who rec'd it but THANK YOU! And to everyone new; Welcome! I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**NOW ON A VERY SOUR NOTE: I also checked my email today and someone named 'CJ - Lady of Gryffindor ' sent me this: "This is the gayest piece of ** I have ever seen in my life. Twilight and  
>people who like it should all commit suicide"<strong>

**YEAH! don't believe me? just look in the reviews for this story! I don't know why she would say something so evil, but that's heartless people for ya! **

**Anyways, honey, if you're reading this, and I KNOW you are; You have been reported. Oh yeah! and we Twilight fans will not commit suicide, because guess what; if we did then we wouldn't be able to see BREAKING DAWN next Friday! **

**Okay I'm done. enjoy! :)**

Bella was pulled back into consciousness by someone persistently tapping her shoulder.

"Bella, honey, wake up." It was Esme. Bella open her eyes and closed them again as the bright lights of a room hurt her eyes.

"Where are we?" Bella said, her voice rough, as she let her eyes adjust to the new light.

"You're at the hospital." Said a deep voice unfamiliar male voice. Bella turned to see a police officer walking towards herself and Esme. "Isabella Swan?" He asked looking between the two ladies. Bella raised her hand cautiously. "Hello, I'm officer Knowlman. I would like to speak with you for a moment."

Bella didn't move; she felt so numb and exhausted. She just stared blankly at the officer who had been watching her expectantly. Esme rubbed Bella's back in what was suppose to be a soothing way, but Bella was in no mood to be comforted. She always knew she shared a special connection with her mother. Renee had died, and now it felt as if Bella were slowly dying. A very _slow, _painful death.

Esme spoke then, seeing that Bella was in a dazed state. "Can I speak with you for a minute?" Her voice was still rough and trembled because she was still crying, A steady stream of tears pouring down her anxious face. She looked worriedly at Bella before getting up and walking around the corner of the waiting room, with officer Knowlman reluctantly following suit.

Bella could dimly hear them quietly arguing. With all the strength she could muster, Bella got up to walk closer to the corner so she could hear better.

"Sir, I don't think that Bella is ready to deal with-"

"I understand ma'am but the sooner we do this the sooner we can find-"

"No! What _you _need to understand is, she's _just _a teenage girl, and she's been going through a rough time already, _then_ her mom is dead, and _now_ you want to tell that Charlie is the one responsible for-"

Bella quickly turned the corner into view. She wasn't sure why, but she suddenly felt angry.

"What are you two talking about? I'm _not just _a little girl, I'm nearly an adult. And why are you talking about my dad?" Her face was livid, but her voice was monotone.

The two adults stared at her in what she perceived as sympathy, which irritated her all the more.

"Well? Tell me what's going on, I'm strong enough, I can handle it."

It was silent for a long while as Esme regarded Bella, feeling that she'd already had enough baggage to cause her nightmares for a very long time. However, Officer Knowlman's patience was at an end. He took a deep breath and stepped forward putting a hand on Bella's shoulder, (Which she shook off just as quickly.)

"I'm just going to be upfront with you Isabella. As you know, Renee Dwyer was found lying on the floor in you house. She was found with a-"

Bella quickly cut him off. "You say she was _found, _who found her?"

"Well around five twenty-three P.M, Charlie Swan called the police, stating that his wife was dead. He didn't give any details, he just hung up. When we arrived, Renee Swan was lying on the floor dead. Charlie Swan was no where to be found."

Bella was confuddled. "So what does all this mean?" She asked, looking from officer Knowlman to Esme and back again. Esme looked like she wanted to rip the officer's tongue out of his mouth. Officer Knowlman cautiously continued.

"Renee was found with a dark ring around her neck, like a bruise. Is what I'm describing at all familiar to you, Bella?" Bella shook her head slowly but remained silent. Officer Knowlman continued, looking as if he were trying to solve a complex math problem.

"Bella, have you ever heard, or witnessed Charlie abusing Renee?"

"Why?" Bella asked, her voice laced in suspicion. '_He can't possibly be trying to say what I think he's trying to say.'_

"Because as far as we know, Charlie Swan Strangled Renee. Therefore being the cause of her death."

Bella suddenly felt as if she'd been punched in her stomach. "What?" She said in disbelief clutching her stomach. Officer Knowlman tried again.

"Charlie Swan-"

"No, don't say it _again_!" Bella yelled.

She was at a lost. Just when Bella thought her life couldn't get any more tragic it does.

'_Can't honestly say that I'm surprised,' _Bella thought bitterly. _'Would've thought the filthy drunk would have more balls than to kill my mother, then flee the goddamn country…coward.' _Bella was visibly and violently shaking from the heap of emotions she felt. She didn't know which was stronger; the feeling of deep hatred at Charlie- not dad, or father- for taking away the last good thing in her life, disappointment _and _anger towards herself for letting everything get this far,(_ If I'd found a way out of this hell my mother would still be alive right now_)

Or maybe it was that horrible feeling of abandonment. _'My mother had just been murdered, by my fath-Charlie only hours ago. I'm not even of age yet, only seventeen.'_

Surely she couldn't set out on her own.

"I'm going to a foster home." Bella said numbly.

Esme looked at her in disbelief, astounded that she would come to that conclusion. "You will certainly _not _be going to a foster home! You're coming home with me, Bella-" Bella wanted to interrupt, but Esme cut her short. "No. Bella, look at me." she said firmly getting down to eye-level with Bella. "You are _not_ alone. _Always_ remember that, do you understand? I know things are rough right now, and it's going to be that way for a while, but _we _will get through this Bella." Esme wiped the tears from Bella's pale face.

Officer Knowlman, whom looked extremely uncomfortable, spoke up. "Would you like to see Renee before-"

"NO!" Bella almost yelled. She couldn't bear to see her Mother, pale, cold, and lifeless only hours after she'd been killed. That would be Bella's Breaking point.

"Okay." Officer Knowlman said. "If you would just follow me, so that we could ask you a few questions." He steered Bella towards the back of the hospital, where Bella could spot a few more police men talking amongst themselves. Talking about her parents was the last thing Bella wanted to do. Apparently, Esme felt the same way.

"No you don't. Bella's going to come home, now." Officer Knowlman looked highly disapproving, but he wouldn't dare challenge Esme, whose usually soft and quiet being was now gone and replaced by an irritable, lion protective of her cub.

When Bella got to her house she tried to make packing her things as quick as possible. She didn't want to be there. Possible death scenes unwillingly passed through her mind as she stood in her room while Esme got all her things inside of Bella's old suit cases. She broke out in a cold sweat, and tried to calm her self down, nearly hyperventilating.

It wasn't until about ten minutes later that Esme was done and carrying Bella's suit cases down the stairs. Bella was about to leave her room, when something caught her eye. She turned and saw something lying on her pillow. As Bella got closer she saw that it was a locket, her mother's locket that she'd always worn no matter what. It was an antique golden locket necklace that had been passed down from Bella's Grandmother to Renee.

'_Why is this here?' _She asked herself as she picked it up.

"Bella?" Esme called from downstairs.

Bella quickly put the locket and her pocket and went downstairs.

**I hope you enjoyed it! Next we will be meeting the Cullens. **

**Please review! I'd REALLY appreciate it!**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hello everyone! My deepest apologies for having this chapter in late. **_

_**This chapter isn't a particular point of view, it alters from time to time, but you should still be able to understand it :)**_

_**As usual, thanks goes out to my awesome beta '7 ace', and Thank you to all of my old and new readers, I'm really passionate about this story and I'm happy that you enjoy reading it. Enjoy!**_

_I hope that you see right through my walls  
>I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling<br>I'll never let a love get so close  
>You put your arms around me and I'm home<em>

_~Christina Perri_

Esme had called Carlisle once Bella had fallen asleep in the back seat. -Her sobs were finally at a close, but an occasional whimper could be heard. - Carlisle, Alice, and Edward had all agreed that it would be best for Bella to live with them. Esme would have made her live with them even if they hadn't agreed, it was just nice to know that they did.

Carlisle was already on the phone making arrangements for the funeral, while Alice was setting up the guest room for Bella, and Edward was cooking.

They arrived at the house an hour later. It had taken a while to pry Bella awake.

"Come on sweetie, we're home." She told her once Bella had finally opened her eyes looking rather disoriented. She nodded and silently gathered her things. The house was absolutely beautiful. With three stories of such exquisite architecture, you'd think Esme designed it herself. For a split-very small- second Bella was glad that she was invited to live with Esme and her family, she wouldn't have to adjust to a new family with horrible settings. When that split second was over, she was left with the feeling of guilt, of feeling that she was intruding on their lives.

The front door suddenly opened and Carlisle came into view, looking rather distressed, and his usual hairstyle of straight strawberry blonde hair was in disarray from running his fingers through it constantly out of frustration, His cashmere sweater wrinkled.

He tried very hard to put on a warm smile for Bella, he was more than happy to have Bella living with them, other than the latter. But the events that led to this conclusion were wearing on him to a shocking point. He's known Charlie since elementary school, grew up with him.

Charlie wasn't a saint; anyone that knew him knew _that_. He was a prankster in elementary school, and rebelled against _all_ authority in middle school… Carlisle would have thought Charlie was on his way to juvenile.

That doesn't mean he was a bad kid. And he proved that when he met Renee. Charlie no longer got into trouble and no longer got bad grades. His focus was purely on Renee, on making her happy, on making her fall in love with him. And she did, easily. They were always together, never went one place without the other. Charlie and Renee were voted cutest couple and most likely to grow old together…

That was a long time ago.

Carlisle came over to hug Bella tightly. "Welcome, Bella, It's great to see you."

It had been so long since Bella had been held like this by a father figure; she'd nearly forgotten how it felt. It took every ounce of will that she had not to crumple in his arms and just… break down.

All too soon, he released her, kissed Esme on the cheek, and took Bella's bags while Esme led her into the house.

The inside of the house was just as grand as the outside, which astonishing architecture. Different variety of woods and limestone decorated the house as well as earthy tones and appropriate bright colors to make the house a warm atmosphere despite the cold temperature of Forks.

While the Swans' usually lived from pay check to pay check, the Cullens' were obviously _very_ comfortable with life.

"Bella!" Alice was at the bottom of the teak staircase standing no more than five foot three, nicely dressed in a gray sweater dress.

Bella was suddenly hyper-aware of her appearance. She knew her eyes were puffing and red from crying, her usual smooth, straight hair was now in tangles from sleeping the car. Her face felt cold and pale.

Bella tried arduously to smile at Alice but only managed a grimace. She really had nothing to smile about anymore.

"Oh, come here you." Alice said softly, her voice and face screaming sympathy.

Something Bella was quickly beginning to hate.

Bella and Alice hugged tightly while Carlisle pulled Esme into the far corner of the entrance hall.

"How is she?" He asked anxiously.

"Well, her mom just dies by the hands of her father. I would imagine she's handling that quite well." She said in half-hearted sarcasm. Carlisle wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close.

"I'm sorry, that was a stupid question. What about you, are you alright?" He murmured, kissing her forehead.

Esme sighed and glared at the wall. "I'll be a lot better than alright once I know that the bastard is either locked up for life or dead and that he won't ever cross Bella's line of sight again."

Carlisle sighed too. "I still can't believe it. It seems so surreal." He muttered more to himself. A throat clearing interrupted them.

"I'm going to show Bella to her room." Alice told the two, just as the kitchen door swung open.

"Dinner's almost done-" Edward's voice trailed off when he noticed Bella. Everyone looked at him.

If Bella had been hyper-aware of her appearance before she was more than hyper-aware now.

Edward's look rivaled all others in the house, probably even in the town of Forks. While Alice looked like both her parents-her facial features and size taken from Esme while her blonde hair came from Carlisle, though she dyed it black- Edward had a look of his own. His hair, almost a mixture reddish brown and bronze, naturally went all over the place. He got his height from his father, being nearly taller than him standing at six feet. But his eyes were unique, changing from green to blue to gray depending on his mood.

Bella remembered having a little crush on him when they were just little kids. She used to refer to him as 'doctor Adonis' because of both his dream to become a doctor like his dad and because he was so beautiful. –That, and he told her to call him that. - Of course that was a long time ago, Things changed. Like the fact that Edward had gotten even more good-looking through the years.

Even through the post-tragic mood Bella was in, she recognized that.

"Hey" Edward said cautiously, looking at her wide-eyed. "How are you?"

Esme didn't give Bella a chance to answer. "Edward, why don't you help Alice take Bella's bags up to her room. Then get ready for dinner."

Edward nodded silently, grabbed the two biggest bags and started up the stairs.

"Come on." Alice said softly. They headed up the three short flights of stairs until they reached a hallway with two doors across from each other; Edward opened the door on the left. Bella stayed in this room, on the few times that they came to visit the Cullens'.

It looked a lot different now, the decorations were more mature. The vibrant colors that use to decorate the room were opted out for simple earth tones and dark red that matched the dark carpet. The room was almost the size of a master bedroom.

"Do you want me to help you unpack?" Alice questioned, pulling Bella out of her reverie. Bella shook her head immediately.

"No, but thanks for helping me, and for letting me stay here. I won't be a bother, I promise." Bella felt extremely awkward for some reason. She didn't quite know why.

Alice forced out a laugh in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Don't be silly Bella, I love having you here! I just-" Alice stopped herself from saying she wished it was under better circumstances. She wasn't sure if that would push Bella over the edge. "Get ready for dinner." She said simply before going out of the room and downstairs.

She reminded Bella of her mom. Renee _was _a free-spirit on the outside and usually something wholly different on the inside. Alice was the same.

Bella turned around to see Edward, leaning against the wall, staring at her. It wasn't the look of sympathy that Bella had quickly grown sick of, but a look almost as though he were trying to communicate something to her. She looked at him questionably. "What?"

"Are you alright?" He asked. Bella shrugged almost weakly.

"I haven't cried in the past ten minutes, so I guess that's a start."

Edward frowned as he walked from the wall to stand directly in front of Bella. He raised a hand to softly stroke her cheek, before swiping the pad of his thumb under her eye and showing it to her. He raised his eyebrows at her. "I beg to differ."

Bella hadn't even realized that she'd been crying. She sighed. "I'm sorry." She didn't know why she said it, she wasn't even sure she was talking to Edward. It just needed to come out.

Edward lifter Bella's hand and held it in his comfortingly. "You have no reason to be apologizing, nothing that happened was your fault." Though Bella found his words mildly helpful, they were just word of comforts.

"What comfort words are you gonna give me now? Are you going to say, 'everything is going to be okay'?" Bella asked, a weak smile playing at the corners of her lips. Edward didn't smile in return, but looked rather serious.

"No, I wouldn't do that to you."

_**Well, please tell me what you think, every review is loved! –By the way, I never really asked this question but would you prefer if I replied to your reviews or do you just not care?-**_

_**Question: what did you think of Breaking Dawn? I saw it and LOVED it!**_

_**Photo of the Cullen house is on my profile.**_

_**Until next time, **_

_**Peace, love, and broken headboards!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Yay! An update that's finally on time!**_

_**First off, hello to new and old readers, I hope you are all well.**_

_**Also, I don't know where this sudden 'Alice look-a-like' compliment is coming from, but thank you! I'm very flattered, even though I totally disagree. lol**_

_**Thanks goes out to my very helpful and very kickass beta '7 ace' if you enjoy Jacob/nessie stories you should check her out!**_

_**I don't own Twilight…if so, I wouldn't be on Fan fiction **__**L**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart  
>But you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start...<em>

_I hope that you see right through my walls  
>I hope that you catch me 'cause I'm already falling<br>I'll never let a love get so close  
>You put your arms around me and I'm home<em>

~Arms

After Edward excused himself from Bella's room to go down to dinner, Bella went into the hall bathroom to get her self in check. It was one thing to be crying, but a whole other when you're crying without even realizing it.

Bella's suspicion about her appearance had been confirmed when she caught her reflection in the mirror. Wet, pale face, puffy red eyes, matted mahogany hair. All that, with the addition to the vein of distress that was clearly visible on her forehead.

Bella let out a shuttering breath and slid down onto the fluffy white rug. Her mind was still in num-mode, and she knew that when the events of what happened finally settled in to her mind, her heart, that all hell would break lose. It happened the last time something even mildly tragic happened to her; she didn't even want to imagine what would happen this time.

Bella remembered thinking just a week ago that there was no where but up from where she was that if she held on to hope, things would ultimately get better.

'_I was obviously wrong.' _she thought bitterly. '_Why is it that the _one_ goal I had in life, to get away with my mom and leave Charlie behind, destroyed itself to pieces? Why is it that nothing positive came in a vicinity of me?' _The biggest question swimming in the back of her mind; _'Why did I have to go and have fun with Angela? If I had only been at home…' _

A soft knock on the door made Bella jump. "Bella?" It was Esme.

"Yes?" Bella voice was rough with tears that she couldn't control. She cleared her throat.

"Honey, are you okay? Can I come in?"

"No and yes." Bella said, not bothering to get up from the floor.

Esme opened the bathroom door, slid in, and shut it back, locking it. She turned to see that Bella was sitting on the floor almost in a fetal position. She looked tired and weak.

It made Esme's heart clench.

She got down on the floor beside Bella and brought her into a one-armed hug. This made Bella relax, but only slightly.

"Hey," Esme spoke. "A lot of things have happened in the past few hours. We're going to have a fairly busy week. But right now, I don't want you to think about any of that, don't think about _them,_ and don't think about the past, future…just let your mind go blank and relax tonight.

Why don't we go eat dinner and then you can watch some movies. Any that you'd like. How does that sound?" Esme doubted it would help much for Bella. Edward quite frequently used the method of taking his mind off of things, to make him feel better.

_But he also had time to adjust…_

Bella chuckled half-heartedly. "That beats sitting on the hard bathroom floor for the rest of the night."

Dinner was spent with everyone trying to act normal, as if the recent events had even occurred.

Alice talked in high affection about someone named Jasper to Bella. She'd never heard of him, but apparently, Alice was 'In love'.

This, apparently was news to Carlisle because he playfully glared at her but told her in seriousness that Jasper would have to come to dinner one night so that they could properly meet; Alice pouted.

For the first time that night -even if it was short lived- Bella felt herself genuinely smile at their antics.

Edward, who had been bantering with Esme saying that his cooking was better than hers, looked at his watch, frowned, and politely excused himself from the table, nodding when Esme threw him a meaningful look that Bella couldn't quite understand. He went upstairs.

After dinner, which Bella really didn't eat any, Esme, Alice, and Bella went into the large living room. Alice skipped over to the large quantity of DVDs and started scanning through them, right when Bella saw Edward come into view at the living room entrance. He had a coat on and car keys were dangling from his pinky finger.

"I'll be back before ten." He said to Esme, waving at Alice and Bella and continuing on his way.

Bella's curiosity peaked. "Where's he going?" It took Esme a couple of seconds to answer.

"Oh, just to run a couple of errands." She visibly winced, and then a thick silence fell over the room. It was quickly broken by Alice.

"Any movies in particular that you want to watch, Bella?"

Bella, just wanting to get lost in something other than her mind, stated that she didn't care what they watched. Though, she regretted that statement about ten minutes into _Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events_.

Alice, who just as quickly realized her mistake, quickly shut the movie off and stood there awkwardly. "Sorry, bad choice of movie." she said while looking over the vast DVD collection. "Hey what about '_American Pie'?_

Bella disagreed for a whole other reason, like the fact that it would be really awkward watching that with her _god-mother._

"Actually, I think I'm just going to get ready for bed, if you don't mind, I'm pretty exhausted."

Esme nodded. "Okay, sweetheart. Alice you should go to bed too, you have school tomorrow."

Bella stopped herself from getting up. "Wait, what am I going to do about school? I can't just drop out." She wasn't ready to go back to school just yet, but at some point. Would she be attending the same school as Alice and Edward now?

Esme put a hand on Bella's shoulder. "Don't worry about that right now. We'll deal with it later." Esme got up, bid the girls goodnight and headed to her room on the second floor.

Bella got up also. "Are you going to sleep?" She asked Alice, who then smiled blushingly.

"Not yet, I have to talk to Jasper. To tell him about meeting my family, of course." she said quickly. Bella smirked, she might not have much experience with dating and relationships, but she wasn't dumb.

"Okay, have fun." Bella said. Alice laughed at her, kissed her on the forehead and sped to her room on the second floor. Bella turned the TV off and headed up the three flights of stairs.

In her room, her clothes and belongings were in her suite case on the floor next to her TV. Bella felt stiff and in need of a shower. She put her suit case on her bed and dug out her toiletries and night clothes, then went into the hall bathroom.

The bathroom was spotless, but the men's soap, shaving cream, deodorant, and toothbrush, was evidence that Edward used it.

Bella turned the water on hot making the mirror fog over almost immediately. The shower relaxed her muscles, detangled her hair, and made her smell like strawberries. But it didn't help keep her mind off things.

Bella went back to her room. The image of a queen sized bed had never looked to tempting in her life. She turned her lights off, climbed under the comforter and with little difficulty, drifted off to sleep…

_Bella was running. The necklace she wore around her neck was pulling her forward, toward him. Charlie. He didn't have a face, but she knew it was him. The locket was still pulling her towards him. She tried to pull it off, tried to stop her feet from advancing. But found that the closer she got to Charlie the more she could feel her resolve weakening. "Bella." Edward's voice could be heard close by like an echo. She tried to turn but the locket jerked her forward so that she was two feet away from Charlie…_

Bella jerked awake, hyperventilating and sweating, though her skin was covered in Goosebumps, and tears streamed down her face and onto her shirt. She wrapped her hand around her neck remembering that feeling of nearly being strangled by the locket.

"Bella?" Though his voice was low, Bella jumped, startled. Edward was standing beside Bella's bed.

"Huh?" Bella looked around, then remembering that she wasn't in her bed at home, she cried harder. Whether out of happiness or grief she didn't know.

Edward, surprised by her sudden outburst, knelt by her bed and took her hands in his. "Are you alright?" he asked for what felt like the twentieth time that night.

"No." Bella said simply before wiping her eyes. "When did you get in?" she looked at the clock; **10:56**.

"About an hour ago. I was getting out of the shower when I heard you crying and talking, I thought you were awake." Edward stood up.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, you've done nothing wrong." He said before turning to walk out of the room.

Bella found herself not wanting him to leave. She didn't want to be alone at the moment, and she definitely wasn't going back to sleep. She wouldn't ever o to sleep again if it meant that she wouldn't have to relive that dream.

But before Bella could even pluck up the courage to ask Edward to keep her company a little while longer, he had already gone and come back, this time with a bag. He rotated a knob on the wall and the lights-very dim- came on. Then he grabbed the TV remote and came over to Bella.

"Do you mind?" he asked, motioning towards her bed. Bella shook her head immediately and he sat down next to her, turned on the TV and Bella's ears were met by the _Family guy_ intro song. Bella raised her eyebrows at Edward and he threw her a boyish smile in return.

He then took the 'Walgreens' bag and tipped it over in the middle of Bella's bed between them. A bunch of junk food fell out of it, pouring partially on their laps. Bella involuntarily gasped. She had never seen so much candy at one time in her life.

She found herself speechless for awhile. Only when Edward started eating a snickers did Bella finally find her voice.

"How- wh- what's all this for?"

"You." Edward said simply. "And Me." he added as an after thought.

Bella wondered what could possibly upset Edward so much that he'd result to eating loads of junk food. She was going to ask him just that, but when she looked at him she noticed for the first time that his eyes were red and puffy.

_He had been crying._

"Are you okay?" She asked softly.

Edward knew what she was referring to. He also knew that implying that he was not okay would ultimately result in him telling her why, which would lead to more tears. Bella didn't need to deal with both her grief _and_ his… surely her head would explode.

"Yeah, I'm fine he said waving, it off, keeping his eyes trained on the television. "Eat, you'll feel better." He assured her, and for the first time in what seemed to be four years, he heard that tinkling laugh that he used to enjoy so much.

"Whatever you say, Professor Lupin." She said and grabbed the half-eaten snickers from his hand, and stuffing almost the entire thing in her mouth. As she got closer to Edward she caught a whiff of something…fruity.

"You used my strawberry soap."

His best defense was, "It smelled _really_ good. And besides you took my snickers, so now we're even."

He heard her laughter again, and suddenly felt a little better.

_**Please tell me what you think! What do you want to happen in the next chapter?**_

_**Please review!**_

_**Until next time,**_

_**Peace, love, and broken headboards**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Whoah-man-whoah! Five freaking months! I suck ass right now I know. Well good thing is, summer starts in a week and a half for me and I don't have college or work, So I can update like once a week like I use to.**

_**So where were we… Oh! It was Bella's first night living with the Cullen's. She had a weird -but very meaningful- nightmare/dream about Charlie. She watched 'Family guy' with Eddie-boy while they pigged out. Bella realized that Edward had been crying….**_

_For the rest of that night, Edward and Bella watched Family Guy make borderline inappropriate jokes. He succeeded in distracting Bella, as well as himself. The events of the past few hours was the last thing he wanted to think about. But being the fact that _**his**_ mom was still alive, he felt it'd be selfish to be thinking about his problems when Bella, to him, was in a much worse position…_

_It seemed ages ago when the worse stress the two had was convincing Esme to let them stay up late at night and play outside with Alice and Edward's friends…_

Bella awoke in the morning after a finally dreamless sleep. She didn't even remember going to sleep. Her bed was cleared of all traces of pigging out with Edward.

Bella sat up in her bed for a long while, staring around the room. Sunlight filtered in through the window behind the curtains, casting a red glow throughout the room.

She felt as though she were in another country, a whole other continent. She had that numb feeling again, just brewing in the pit of her stomach. She knew; this is just the quiet before the storm…

"Bella?" The muffled voice from behind the bedroom door called out. The door creaked open and to Bella's small surprise, it was Carlisle. "Oh, you're awake, do you mind if I come in?"

"No, not at all." _It's your house anyways._

Carlisle looked slightly more put together. His blonde hair in its usual slick-back do. He wore a gray button down with creased black slacks, and obviously expensive loafers. Carlisle smiled when he caught her bluntly ogling him; he'd always found the fact that Bella found him attractive rather amusing, much to Bella's embarrassment.

"Good morning Bella, How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Bella said without thinking about it. She felt fine, physically. Emotionally, she was in for a long term of damage. Mentally; numb.

"Are you sure?" She nodded. It was clear on Carlisle's face that he didn't believe her, but he let it go. "Alight, well Esme made breakfast, so when you're ready you can come down and get some food in you. Sound good?" Bella nodded. Carlisle kissed her forehead. "We _will_ get through this." He whispered before turning and leaving the room.

Bella didn't have time to think about the fact that Carlisle kissed her forehead, for just as soon as Carlisle left the room, Alice came in. Still in her sleep clothes. She came over to the side of the bed that Edward had been in the night before and scooted in under the covers next to Bella.

"Morning Bells." Alice mumbled, her head on the same pillow as Bella's, her face buried in Bella's hair. She was obviously still tired.

"Good morning Alice. Aren't you going to get ready for school?" Alice groaned, burying her head deeper into Bella's pillow.

"_No_, I don't wanna… Your hair smells like chocolate covered strawberries and sunshine." Bella barked out a laugh despite herself.

"That sounds sexy." Edward had just came into the room. _(What is this, Cullen headquarters?) _He wore dark skinny jeans that hung low on his waist, a white shirt and a leather jacket with worn converses, reminding Bella a lot of the characters from 'The Outsiders'.

"Good morning." He regarded Bella cheerily before turning to glare at Alice, Who was still half asleep, her head still buried in Bella's hair. "Alice, if you're not in my car in the next thirty minutes I'm leaving without you."

That woke her up. "It takes me thirty minutes just to do my _makeup_!

"I don't care. _get up._" With that, he left the room and went downstairs.

Bella looked to Alice expectantly but Alice made no attempt to get up and dressed.

"He throws that threat at me every morning." She laughs. "And it never works." Bella chuckled half-heartedly. "Here's a word of advice when dealing with Edward; Pout. It works every time."

Forty minutes later, after forcing herself to get out of bed, Bella went downstairs to humor Mr. and Mrs. Cullen. But she wanted nothing more than to bury herself in the mattress- or rather floor- in her new room and just…stay there.

Everyone was still intent on acting as if nothing has happened, as if Bella decided leisurely to come visit them for a summer. Though, they were doing a considerably worse job at it than the previous night. There were a lot more awkward silences. It wasn't until Bella had nearly finished eating that Carlisle broke the silence in the room.

"Bella, there will be a couple of police officers here in a little bit. Just to ask you a few questions about, well…you know." he trailed off, closing his eyes momentarily.

Bella didn't know how to feel about this new information. On one hand, she didn't want to talk to anyone. She didn't want to have to deal with the realities of her mother being dead…

But at the same time, the fact that she was dead, the fact that Charlie murdered her, stirred something from deep within. Hatred, rage, hurt, but more dominating; desire. Desire to know that Charlie is ruined for life. That her mother didn't die in vain. That she's had justice.

Bella functioned on this new found determination.

"Okay," She said, standing up with her now empty bowl. "I'll be ready."

_I hope that you see right through my wallsI hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already fallingI'll never let a love get so closeYou put your arms around me and I'm home_~Christina Perri

**I know this chapter is short, there will be an update tomorrow. And Bella's gonna crack…a little.**

**In upcoming chapters; Lot's of surprising twists. And I mean surprising, in fact I BET none of you can figure out what those twists are. Also, we'll meet Jasper, And the funeral, and that big attempted suicide scene will follow soon after that. So stay tuned!**


	8. Chapter 8

_How many times will you let me change my mind and turn around  
>I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown<em>

_I hope that you see right through my walls  
>I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling<br>I'll never let a love get so close  
>You put your arms around me and I'm home<em>

_~Arms_

Later that day, around twelve, Bella sat in the vast living room between Esme and Carlisle- who'd taken off work for the day- on the leather sofa, while talking to two police officers, -One being officer Knowlmann- sat on the sofa in front of them. The other officer sitting, quietly observing Bella while he scribbled in his notepad.

This meeting was about as difficult to cope through as Bella had expected. They started out with what Officer Knowlmann thought of as 'easy'; the events leading up to Renee's death.

"So, tell us what happened that day." He prompted, his intense stare not helping.

Deep down, Bella didn't want to give him any information. It felt too personal to share with anyone; the going-ons of her dysfunctional family. Let alone tell it to a stranger.

_But it has to be done._ She told herself. _Think of your mother._

She cleared her throat. "Um, well I woke up in the morning and I heard my mother and Charlie arguing." She stopped and Officer Knowlmann stared at her expectantly.

_He wants more information. It must be done._

"And what were they arguing about?"

"I'm not completely sure; I believe it was about money. Charlie accused my mother of trying to skip out on her portion of the bills, but he was _drunk_ when he told her she could." Bella's voice immediately took on a bleak yet darkened edge.

"He had her pinned against the wall when I came out of my room. I yelled at him to stop." Her mind was filled with visions of the scene of her mom... things were starting to click.

"My mom said she 'couldn't take it anymore'...That's why he killed her!" Bella stood up and started pacing the living room.

"Bella? Honey, what are you talking about?" Carlisle asked in alarm. The other police officer scribbled furiously in his notepad. Both officer Knowlmann and Esme were looking at her wide-eyed as she paced the room.

"She said she couldn't take it anymore. She was going to leave him! He'd probably been suspecting it so he came home from work early... And- and he killed her before she could leave."

Bella stopped pacing; she couldn't believe it. They had come so close... _so_ close to leaving Charlie behind, and having a new life, and he had to snatch the _one_ piece of hope from her.

Bella didn't know what to do. She felt like screaming a violent, hair-raising, eardrum bursting scream. She felt like pulling her hair so hard that it ripped from her skull. She felt like digging her nails so _deep_ into her skin that she drew blood. There was violent rage pulsing through her, filling her up from the end of her toes to her hair follicles. She wanted to hurt something.

She wanted to be alone.

"Can I go upstairs?" Her voice was strained, rough. She was on the verge of crying.

Officer Knowlmann, still wide-eyed spoke. "No, we still have to ask you-"

"You wanna know what happened? Charlie Swan killed my mom and ruined my _fucking_ life!" Bella registered the front door opening, but only subconsciously. "That _bitter alcoholic bastard_ took everything! He was- he was fine, before... and then- he changed and- he hit my mom and _spit_ in her face and pushed...table, and, I just wanted us to leave, to get away from him. But he ruined that. Now I have nothing... nothing left in my life that's worth living for, and I just..."

She finally broke off crying and hyperventilating. Her knees gave out and she sat on the floor in fetal position, her nails digging into the skin of her palm. Her subconscious registered someone lifting her up from the floor...carrying her up stairs... sitting her on their lap, rocking her. Not giving her comfort words because he wouldn't do that do her, but stopping her every time she tried to violently kick something, push something, break something, or harm herself...

When Bella woke up, her room was dark; it couldn't have been any earlier than seven pm.

"You feel better?" Bella looked up to see Edward staring back at her cautiously, his eyes clouded with sadness for her. Bella had fallen asleep partially on top of Edward, lying on his chest, one of her legs tangled with his. It was comforting...too comforting.

Bella sat up and scooted over to put a measure of distance between them. "Yeah, I'm fine. I think. Thanks."

She had calmed down, true. But Bella figured Esme might be right; she should keep her mind off of it, the whole situation, and her reality.

She looked at Edward... he was staring at the space between them.

"You hungry?" She asked. Edward looked up at her as if taken from a daydream. He smiled brightly at her.

_At least she still wants to eat._

"What do you have in mind?" Bella shrugged. "Come on." Edward said getting off the bed.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked looking at him curiously.

"Out." He replied, picking up her converses from the side of her suitcase and sitting them by her feet. Bella put them on as well as her leather jacket, and grabbed her wallet, to which Edward took from her and tossed back on the bed. "Let's go."

**That Edward... gotta love him. So there was that first little twist in the story!...your thoughts?**

**Next chapter we will meet Jasper, also more Bellward... :)**

**Please review! Favorite part of the story so far? Predictions? Suggestions?**

**Next chap will be up soon**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the support! I love you guys so freaking much!**

_**Previously in YPYAAMAIH: When Bella woke up, her room was dark; it couldn't have been any earlier than seven pm.**_

_**"You feel better?" Bella looked up to see Edward staring back at her cautiously, his eyes clouded with sadness for her. Bella had fallen asleep partially on top of Edward, lying on his chest, one of her legs tangled with his. It was comforting...too comforting.**_

_**Bella sat up and scooted over to put a measure of distance between them. "Yeah, I'm fine. I think. Thanks."**_

_**She had calmed down, true. But Bella figured Esme might be right; she should keep her mind off of it, the whole situation, and her reality.**_

_**She looked at Edward... he was staring at the space between them.**_

_**"You hungry?" She asked. Edward looked up at her as if taken from a daydream. He smiled brightly at her.**_

_**At least she still wants to eat.**_

_**"What do you have in mind?" Bella shrugged. "Come on." Edward said getting off the bed.**_

_**"Where are we going?" Bella asked looking at him curiously.**_

_**"Out." He replied, picking up her converses from the side of her suitcase and sitting them by her feet. Bella put them on as well as her leather jacket, and grabbed her wallet, to which Edward took from her and tossed back on the bed. "Let's go."**_

_How many times will you let me change my mind and turn around  
>I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown<em>

_~Arms_

After checking in the mirror that she didn't look completely terrible, Bella and Edward went down the two flights of stairs.

They were walking past the living room when they spotted Alice and some blonde haired guy stuck to each other's face.

"Hey!" Edward shouted, startling both Bella and the kissing couple. They broke apart and separated so quickly, you'd think it was rehearsed.

"Dammit Edward! You scared the hell out of me!"

"Obviously" He chuckled, jingling his keys. "Where's mom and dad?"

"Umm, they went with the officers." It was obvious she felt awkward talking about it. She quickly changed the subject. "Where are you going?"

"We're going to the movies," he stated. "To see 'The Woman in Black'."

Alice squealed. "I wanna go! Can Jasper and I come along?"

Edward sighed rather reluctantly. "Fine, if you think you can hold off sucking face for a few hours."

Alice jumped up and ran upstairs. To refresh her makeup, Bella suspected. The boy, Jasper, looked at Edward and then quickly looked away again. Bella looked up to see Edward glaring daggers at him. Probably still angry about the kissing thing.

Bella poked him in the ribs, he looked down at her. '_Leave him alone.'_ She communicated silently. Edward rolled his eyes and continued staring at Jasper, though in a less menacing manner.

"Well, are you just gonna sit there and be rude, or are you going to introduce yourself?" He hissed, crossing his arms.

Jasper looked nervous out of his mind.

Alice then came down. "Edward, Leave him alone!"

"Well I just think-"

"I said _leave. Him. Alone." _They glared at each other a little while before Jasper spoke up.

"No, he's right," Jasper amended stepping from behind Alice and holding his hand out to Edward. "I'm Jasper Hale; Alice's _Boyfriend_." He made sure to put emphasis on the word 'boyfriend', and all could be understood; he wasn't going to allow Edward to intimidate him, and he wasn't going anywhere.

Edward seemed to get the message too; he smirked at jasper, though it was a little forced, and shook his hand. "I'm Edward Masen-Cullen, Alice's brother, and this is-"

"Isabella Swan, but you can call me Bella." Bella cut in. _I can speak for myself._

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Bella. And I'm sorry for your losses. I've been there; I know what it's like."

She didn't know what to say to that. Alice looked to the floor, blushing slightly, embarrassed that she'd been caught talking.

"Thanks." Bella muttered still staring at Alice, but curiously…

"Alright, come on." Edward said tugging Bella's elbow and leading everyone out to his black 2011 Ford Fusion. Soon they were off to the Forks movie theater…The only movie theater in town.

"I thought we were going to get something to eat?" Bella reminded Edward when they got out of the car, pulling up their hoods as it started to drizzle.

"We'll go afterwards if that's okay with you, Miss Swan." Edward teased.

Bella smirked. "Fine. But you're buying me chilly fries."

**YPYAAMAIH**.

Bella soon discovered that she didn't have to try too hard to clear her mind. The movie was terrifying. All four left the theater pale-faced and paranoid. Though, Jasper and Edward tried their damndest to deny it. Bella found it quite amusing.

"You scared?" she whispered in Edward's ear -which was hard to do since he was about a whole foot taller than her- causing him to jump slightly.

"No." He said, a little too quickly.

"_Sure_, but don't come crying to me when you see someone standing over your bed."

"What, you're not gonna hold me?"

Bella scrunched up her nose in way Edward thought was adorable. She shook her head. He chuckled. "Fine, be mean. Just know that I'll hold _you _if Woman in Black came in your room."

The thought made her shudder. She tried to convince herself it was the thought of seeing Woman in Black in her room, rather than the thought of Edward holding her at night.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Bella replied, smiling.

"Good." Edward said before looking over at Jasper and Alice. "Hey! What did I say earlier? I don't wanna see you two playing tongue hockey!"

Alice reluctantly pulled away from Jasper. "Ugh, get over it."

**YPYAAMAIH**

The group went to the local diner in the Center of the town. The parking lot was filled, which Bella did not like.

The place was crowded with teens, all eating, talking, and laughing comfortably.

"Yo! Edward!" a group of people in the back of the restaurant called over to Edward, Alice, and Jasper. They went over with Bella, rather cautiously, following suit. She tried subtly hiding behind the three, trying to blend into the background. But of course, with a town of roughly three thousand people and everyone knowing everything about everyone, she was bound to be recognized as a new face. Everyone stared at her.

"Who is this?" A tall dark-skinned guy asked, his voice filled with curiosity and interest.

"This is Bella, she just moved here from Seattle."

"Oh! You're the girl that moved down here because your parents died." A girl with brown hair and big ears said bluntly.

Bella looked at her in incredulity, her eyebrows raised.

"I'm Lauren Knowlmann, my dad is working on your case."

"I see the resemblance." Bella responded, thinking back to officer Knowlmann's blunt behavior toward her situation and becoming irate. Alice, sensing the tension in Bella, intervened.

"Bella this is Tyler, Mike, Angela, That's Rosalie; Jasper's sister, and this is Emmett." She introduced everyone, first gesturing to the dark-skinned guy, then to a guy with blonde spikes and blue eyes. Then to an Asian guy, who had his arms wrapped around the girl Angela. Rosalie looked the exact girl version of Jasper; both had wavy, strawberry blonde hair and light brown eyes.

Bella attempted to smile at the group, but it really only came out as a grimace. Everyone individually greeted her, each with a different look of intrigue, making Bella feel all the more uncomfortable.

Her cheerfulness from earlier was starting to dissipate, and she now wished she was by herself and away from prying eyes. Though they had planned on eating at the diner, Edward could sense Bella's uneasiness and decided to bail sooner than later.

"Hey guys, we just came to pick up some food to take home." He announced attempting to pull Bella toward the ordering counter. Though Bella wanted nothing more than to go back to the Cullen's home and wallow herself to sleep once more, she didn't want Edward and Alice to start ditching their friends for her sake.

So Bella put on her mask of 'Okay'. "No, it's fine Edward. We can eat here."

By the look on his face, Edward had been taken by surprise with her statement.

"A-are you sure?"

"Yes." She replied, hoping he wouldn't see through her weak façade. As luck would have it, he didn't. Or at least he pretended he didn't. And so after getting their food they sat with the teens Bella really wasn't in the mood for getting to know. So she sat and left her current situation mentally.

It seemed so trivial to be going crazy over losing an iPhone –which is what Lauren was doing at this very moment- when there were much bigger things to worry over. Bella's mind wandered back to Seattle, to the house… her heart hurt. She wondered where Charlie had escaped to. She thought he would do something drastic like move to France, so that he would be protected by his parents.

_Like the coward that he is._

Though, Bella comforted herself with the thought of Charlie already being dead; getting ran over by a semi while on the run for killing her mother. Yes, as far as Bella was concerned, Charlie Swan was already dead. Bella smiled with that thought.

"What are you smiling about?" Alice asked curiously, pulling Bella back to the present. Bella shook her head slowly, her smile growing slightly wider.

"Nothing." She then noticed everyone getting ready to leave, putting hats, scarves and gloves back on.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Bella." The girl, Rosalie said.

"Likewise." Bella replied, though she didn't remember saying more than five words to the girl.

_I should really work on my social skills._

**YPYAAMAIH**

After bidding everyone goodnight and taking a shower, Bella crawled under the covers and without much thought quickly succumbed to sleep…

_Bella was running. The necklace she wore around her neck was pulling her forward, toward him. Charlie. He didn't have a face, but she knew it was him. The locket was still pulling her towards him. She tried to pull it off, tried to stop her feet from advancing. But found that the closer she got to Charlie the more she could feel her resolve weakening. "Bella." Edward's voice could be heard close by like an echo. She tried to turn but the locket jerked her forward so that she was two feet away from Charlie…_

Before Bella was pulled to stand in front of the faceless Charlie, she awoke and was met with the dark quiet of the Cullen's room.

'_It was just a dream.'_ She reminded herself as she stretched and rolled over onto her side towards the window. What she saw then forced a cold sweat to break out over her body. Her blood ran cold.

In the corner stood a dark figure, no recognizable features, except that it was a woman. It was still and staring… at her. A silent cry escaped Bella as she froze.

_1… 2…3_

And she dashed out of her bed and out of the room before slamming the door behind her.

"_Oh my God"_ she gasped over and over again as she sunk to the floor in fetal position, her heart hammering in her chest. "What the _fuck_ was that? Oh my God."

The door in front of her swung open and Bella let out a soundless scream, sure that it was the dark figure coming for her.

"Bella?" Edward called in sleepy confusion. "What're you doing?"

Without thinking, Bella pushed Edward back into his room before closing and locking the door behind them.

"Bella, Honey what's wrong?" He asked in alarm, now realizing how out of her mind Bella looked. Her eyes were wild, wide with fear. She was sweating and shaking and hyperventilating.

Bella tried explaining what she saw several times, but every time she opened her mouth the only thing that came out was the sound of her inhaling. Edward pulled her to sit on his bed and shook her gently by the shoulders.

"Bella, baby, I'm gonna need you to breathe. Calm down for a minute, and tell me what's wrong." He begged. Bella in response began crying. But she began breathing slightly more normal again.

"There's something…someone in my room, it was staring at me!"

Edward paused, taken aback. "Wait. You're telling me that someone is in your room? Was it Alice, Esme, of Carlisle?"

Bella shook her head, still crying. Without another thought Edward got off the bed and headed towards the door. Bella hopped off the bed as well.

"No, Edward, don't go in there! _Please!_ Don't leave me here!"

"Just stay in here." Edward commanded softly, before opening his room door and closing it behind him.

Edward burst through Bella's door and was met with a quiet, empty room. He turned on the lights, looked in every corner, under every piece of furniture…_nothing._

He checked the window, it was closed and locked. Outside, there was nothing but darkness. Both Esme's and Carlisle's cars were gone, so they weren't back yet. There had never been a break-in in Forks, let alone their house. He didn't think anyone would have the balls to invade his house or lay a finger on his family or Bella. Just the thought of it angered him.

_So then what did she see?_

"Edward?" He heard Bella call from in his room. Edward glanced around the bedroom once more before closing it and going into his own, closing and locking the door behind him.

"There's no one in there." He told Bella, who was sitting in the far corner of his room in fetal position.

"I know what I saw." She mumbled shakily. And for once Edward had no response. He had inkling in the back of his mind as to what it might be, but the last thing he wanted to do was scare her even more. The only thing he could think to do was comfort her.

"Come here." He called to her. They crawled under the covers and he held her close. She was still visibly shaking, but her breathing was slightly normal and her sobs had silenced.

It was quiet for a long while, until she said something he'd been thinking.

"Doesn't seem like there's some type of cruel irony to this situation?"

"Irony like no other. Maybe that was the wrong movie choice."

"Thanks for keeping your promise."

"I always will."

_I hope that you see right through my walls  
>I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling<br>I'll never let a love get so close  
>You put your arms around me and I'm home<em>

**Creepy right? Ugh, I know. I wrote this at night…alone. Tell me what you think!**

**Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it!**


End file.
